Koh Samui, Thailand: SSP Chowrasia was the best performer for India on the second day of the weather-hit Queen's Cup here on Friday. He shot four-under 67 and moved to a total of two-under 140 in tied 13th place alongside compatriot Chiragh Kumar, who followed his first day 68 with a second round 72. Also making the cut was young Khalin Joshi, who followed his first round 71 with a 70 and he was tied 18th, and Rashid Khan (73-70) in tied 33rd place.
Those missing the cut included S Chikkrangrappa, whose 68 in second round could not make up for his first 80, and Digvijay Singh (73-75) also went out early. Himmat Rai after 77 in first round was four-over through 17 holes and Angad Cheema withdrew after 11 holes in second. He had a 82 in first round.
Chowrasia said, "After a long time I felt good while hitting and did not feel any problem. I just need to keep working on it and I am sure I will be back in form and contention."
Chowrasia had six birdies against three bogeys. Three of his birdies came in a row from 15th to 17th after starting from the 10th, which also he birdied.
Meanwhile, Thai star Prayad Marksaeng showed his class when he signed for a superb six-under-par 65 to seize the second round clubhouse lead by two shots.
The eight-time Asian Tour winner returned with a blemish-free round highlighted by six birdies to lead with a two-day total of eight-under-par 134 while Canadian Richard T. Lee, who signed for a 67, to settle for second place at the Santiburi Samui Country Club.
Overnight leader Atthaphon Sriboonkaew of Thailand (71) shared third place on 137 with defending champion and countryman Thaworn Wiratchant (68), as well as Akinori Tani of Japan, who is two-under-par with two more holes to play, at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event.
Tani will be one of the 31 players to return to the course at 6.40am on Saturday morning to resume their second rounds. Play was suspended at 3.45pm local time due to heavy rain before resuming two hours later. It was then abandoned for the day at 6.40pm due to fading light.
After ending his first round with three birdies, Prayad, who won the Queen’s Cup in 2013, picked up from where he left off by firing two straight opening birdies from the 10th hole and picked up four more birdies on 14th, 16th, fifth and sixth holes.
“I got off to a solid start. Before the round, I told myself it does not matter who is leading, as long as it’s a Thai player, I am ok with it. I didn’t expect myself to lead now but it’s always good coming back to play here. I like this course a lot and playing this week brings back a lot of memories from my win in 2013,” said Prayad, who sank a huge 30-footer birdie on the 10th.
Prayad blitzed the course with a hot putter for an impressive round which reminded him of his victory two years ago. “I putted so well. I made a couple of long putts. It’s always nice to come back here as it holds a lot of good memories for me. Hopefully I can keep the trophy on home soil this week,” added the 49-year-old Thai.
Lee was delighted to make a late charge up the leaderboard with three closing birdies that came right after the rain suspension.
“I had a great finish today. I am happy to put myself in a good position to challenge for a second win on the Asian Tour heading into the weekend round,” said the 24-year-old Lee, who mixed his card with five birdies against a lone bogey on the par-four 11th.
“I have played well here last year so I am hopeful of another good finish this week. The season has been great for me especially with the two top-five finishes at the start of the year. I just want to keep up with my good form and hopefully a second win will come soon,” added Lee, placed sixth on the current Order of Merit.
Atthaphon conceded that the pressure of being in the lead after his opening round has got to him but took comfort that he is still in the mix for a career breakthrough victory.
“I didn’t want to give myself too much stress but after getting so many encouraging messages from my friends last night, I started to feel the pressure. I started well today actually. I was three-under through six holes but I lost focus. The rain delay helped me a bit as I got to cool down for a while,” said Atthaphon, who traded three birdies against three bogeys.
Thaworn remained confident in his bid for a record-breaking victory after capping a commendable round. “I played good today, given the tough conditions out there. I am happy with where I stand at the moment and I believe I still have the chance to break my own records this week,” said Thaworn, who holds an unprecedented 18 titles on the Asian Tour.
Scores after round 2 of the Queen's Cup Samui Golf Tournament 2015 being played at the par 71, 6814 Yards Santiburi GCC course (am - denotes amateur):
134 - Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 69-65.
136 - Richard T. LEE (CAN) 69-67.
137 - Atthaphon SRIBOONKAEW (THA) 66-71, Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 69-68.
138 - Wolmer MURILLO (VEN) 72-66, Danny CHIA (MAS) 69-69.
139 - Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN) 69-70, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 74-65, Jeunghun WANG (KOR) 68-71, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 68-71.
140 - Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA) 68-72, S.S.P. CHAWRASIA (IND) 73-67, Fumihiro EBINE (JPN) 69-71, Chiragh KUMAR (IND) 68-72.
141 - Tanutchan PUAKTES (THA) 72-69, Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 71-70, Khalin JOSHI (IND) 71-70, Gunn CHAROENKUL (THA) 69-72.
142 - Settee PRAKONGVECH (THA) 68-74, Chan KIM (USA) 71-71, Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 74-68, Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 73-69, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 74-68, Yoshinobu TSUKADA (JPN) 71-71.
143 - Shaun NORRIS (RSA) 71-72, CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 73-70, Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) 74-69, Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 77-66, Rashid KHAN (IND) 73-70.
